Boy, 4, morris dances his way to internet stardom

'Morris minor' Ollie Blair has danced his way to become an unwitting social media star.

A video of the youngster, from Diggle, Oldham, joining in step with the Saddleworth Morris Men at the annual Rushcart festival weekend has been viewed on Facebook more than 18,000 times.

Now, Ollie, four, is set to become an honorary Morris Man as the group intend presenting their new member with his own sticks and bells.“He is oblivious to all the attention,” said mum Rebecca, an Oldham PE teacher.

“He doesn’t have a clue what Facebook is but whenever we say ‘the Morris men are on, shall we go and watch them’, he gets very excited.

“He likes dancing when you put music on and he is generally a happy, confident little boy.

“But we don’t push him into doing it, we leave it to Ollie. Some days he says he wants to be a footballer when he grows up, other days he says he wants to be a Morris Man.”

The 72-second video clip of Ollie, dancing in his wellies, was shot by Manns Wharf caterers owner John Stevenson outside the Church Inn and St Chad’s Church in Uppermill.

Ollie, who starts at Diggle School in September, had already shown off his nifty footwork the previous day in the nearby village of Dobcross.

Rebecca said: “His dad Matthew took him out on the Sunday, gave Ollie some handkerchiefs and wooden sticks and he properly really went for it in the last couple of dances.

“His sister Poppy is very proud of her little brother. She loves her gymnastics and usually gets all the attention so it’s nice for Ollie to get to share it now.”

Rebecca admits she’s been staggered by the response to John’s footage.“We went to Kiln Green church and a lady from there had tagged my name on a Facebook post which is when I first saw it,” she said.

“I didn’t think much of it until people started sharing it, including family and friends who live in different parts of the world. We know people in New Zealand so it’s probably been seen down there as well.”

John Stevenson added:"I didn’t know who the little lad was but he just joined in the dancing and I thought it was fantastic!

“He was picking up the steps really quickly and was in perfect time – it’s obviously in his blood.

“I can’t believe how many views the video has had in just a few days. He’s a little star.”